After weeks of speculation about XBOX’s future amid controversial company-wide layoffs, closures, and restructuring strategies, video game studio Rare is reportedly among the labels expected to undergo cuts. Anxiety-fueled industry rumors follow a June 10 joint public memo from XBOX CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty signaling job losses and other big changes amid a brand “reset.”
The British video game studio, established in 1985, is perhaps best known for classic IPs like Banjo-Kazooie, Sea of Thieves, Viva Piñata, Diddy Kong Racing, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Rare was acquired by XBOX parent company Microsoft in 2002.
Word of the studio’s potential cuts was first shared in a Bluesky post from Patrick Garratt, editor-in-chief of video game industry newsletter Knowledge (via The Sixth Axis). “Was told last night that Rare’s on the block. Free one for you, friends.”
Other studios rumored to be affected include Bethesda (Fallout), Zenimax Online (Elder Scrolls Online), Ninja Theory (Hellblade), Double Fine (Psychonauts; Kiln), and more. Reports suggest Microsoft will announce its next round of closures, cancellations, and terminations sometime next week.
Employees across XBOX brands are departing from the company ahead of looming layoffs and closures. On June 25, several Compulsion Games employees announced they had left their roles via posts on the career-oriented social media platform LinkedIn, with some departing after several years.
Now-former XBOX Game Studios head Craig Duncan left the company just 10 days earlier after serving in the role for 18 months. XBOX Game Studios’ then-Chief of Staff, Louise O’Connor, departed alongside Duncan after nearly a year. Both Duncan and O’Connor previously worked for Rare — the former for 14 years and the latter for over 25.
This is a developing story. Stay with Outrun Gaming for more information as it becomes available.
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